Falade Returns as NLNG MD as Mshelbila Bows Out After Tenure

Africa’s foremost gas firm, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) has appointed Adeleye Falade as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer to succeed Philip Mshelbila, who bows after more than four years of transformative leadership.

A statement on Monday, December 15, 2025 by its Manager, Corporate Communication and Public Affairs, Anne-Marie Palmer-Ikuku said the company held a symbolic sendoff ceremony on Friday, December 12, 2025 in Abuja to mark the end of Mshelbila’s tenure.

The statement said Adeleye’s appointment was approved by the NLNG Board of Directors, and will take effect from April 2026.

Falade will join NLNG from Brunei LNG, where he has been serving as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, after his stint with NLNG as General Manager, Production.

Mshelbila leaves the Company on Wednesday, December 31, 2025 to assume the position of Secretary General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) in Doha, Qatar.

The sendoff ceremony in Abuja was graced by NLNG Directors, executives from shareholder companies, dignitaries from the public sector and energy industry in Nigeria, members of NLNG management, and representatives of various staff groups.

in his remarks, NLNG’s Deputy Managing Director, Olakunle Osobu described Mshelbila as “a man of distinction, an accomplished professional whose expertise spans medicine, environmental health, strategic business leadership, and global gas diplomacy”.

Osobu noted that Mshelbila’s focus was clear: driving business sustainability, diversifying operations, and advancing emissions control with safety at the core.

He revealed that the outgoing MD stepped in during a period of unprecedented challenges, from the aftermath of COVID-19 and severe flooding that disrupted gas pipelines to vandalism and force majeure declarations by suppliers.

He stated that the global energy turbulence following the Russia–Ukraine war added further strain.

Despite these hurdles, Osobu emphasised that under Mshelbila’s leadership, NLNG pursued its sustainability goals with courage and innovation.

“Understanding that NLNG needed multiple supply sources, especially with current challenges, Mshelbila championed a bold and strategic pivot to expand NLNG’s feed-gas base beyond the shareholder joint-venture supply chain.

Under his leadership, NLNG negotiated and signed long-term Gas Supply Agreements (GSAs) with six third-party gas suppliers in August 2025. These GSAs commit to delivering an estimated 1,290 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscf/d) of feed-gas to NLNG, a historic step for the Company, marking a seismic shift.

Osobu stated that Mshelbila had championed innovation with a forward-looking approach, inspiring NLNG’s workforce to strengthen their commitment to emissions control and environmental stewardship.

He added that Mshelbila redefined NLNG’s business model through its transformation programme, building foundations for future sustainability and value creation.

In her remarks, NLNG’s General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, Sophia Horsfall, paid glowing tribute to Mshelbila, saying, “Thank you for your selflessness, for the steadiness of your leadership, for the clarity of your vision, and for the values that guided your every step”.

“You led with humility, yet you inspired greatness. You carried the weight of challenges with calm resolve. You charted a path toward sustainability long before it became fashionable.”

Responding to the tributes, Mshelbila expressed profound gratitude to NLNG’s shareholders, Board of Directors, staff, and industry partners for their support throughout his tenure.

He praised the Company’s enduring culture of innovation and excellence and affirmed that he would carry these values into his new role at GECF, where he will promote natural gas as a sustainable and reliable energy source.

As Secretary-General of GECF, Mshelbila will strengthen dialogue between gas-producing and gas-consuming nations, advancing stability in the international gas market.